Aromatic sulfides such as nitrophenyl sulfides are generally a class of chemicals used as intermediates for the synthesis of other chemicals. For example, 2-chloro-6-nitrophenyl isopropyl sulfide or 2-chloro-6-nitrophenylthioisopropyl ether can be used to synthesize agricultural chemicals and 3-chloro-6-nitrophenyl benzyl sulfide (2-benzylthio-4-chloronitrobenzene) can be used to synthesize diazoxide which is used as antihypertensive agent for reducing high blood pressure.
Generally, nitrophenyl sulfides can be made from halo-substituted aromatic compounds in displacement reactions. In the displacement reactions, nucleophiles having a sulfur atom are capable of displacing an electronegative halogen group from the aromatic compounds thereby forming a bond with electron-deficient carbon of the aromatic compounds. For example, it has been reported that 6-nitrophenyl benzyl sulfide is synthesized by reacting 2,4-dichloro nitrobenzene with benzyl mercaptan in the presence of potassium hydroxide in ethanol solution. Such synthetic route requires the use of an organic solvent.
Attempts to synthesize an aromatic sulfide such as a nitrophenyl sulfide without using an organic solvent were unsuccessful because the reaction rate was slow, the conversion of reactants was low, many by-products were formed, the yield was low, and the purity of the product was also low. Therefore there is a need to develop an improved process for producing an aromatic sulfide using an aqueous medium. Development of such a process would also significantly contribute to the art of aromatic sulfide synthesis.